Lip gloss is back, but not as you know it. Forget the sticky gloop that acted like flypaper for your hair.

Now you can expect your lip slick to add shine without stickiness, and to be packed full of skin-loving ingredients such as hyaluronic acid and collagen-boosting peptides.

Sadly, there’s an increased price tag to go with these posh glosses. So is it worth spending upwards of £20? CLAIRE COLEMAN puts them to the test...

Costing upwards of £20, are the new posh glosses worth the dosh? Claire Coleman puts them to the test...

Love at first swipe

Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm, £23, cultbeauty.co.uk

Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm, £23, cultbeauty.co.uk

In eight shades, each with their corresponding (usually sweet) flavour, these squidgy tubes have been popping up all over TikTok.

Lip-loving ingredients include shea butter, vitamin E and hyaluronic acid and, at first swipe, they really do live up to the hype. Soothing and smoothing, they offer a hint of colour with no stickiness. Layer up for full-on gloss effect.

4/5

Victoria Beckham Beauty Posh Gloss, £30, victoriabeckhambeauty.com

Beckham top billing

Victoria Beckham Beauty Posh Gloss, £30, victoriabeckhambeauty.com

This lives up to its posh gloss billing in a weighty glass tube with a soft wand applicator in ten shades. Blackcurrant oil, vitamin E and aloe vera soothe, smooth and moisturise.

It’s called ‘the epitome of 1990s era chic’ and, it’s hard to disagree. At £30 it’s the priciest I tried, and the cost means I can’t give it full marks.

For serious grown-up gloss, this is the one to plump for.

4.5/5

No pillow pout

Jones Road Cool Gloss, £22, jonesroadbeauty.com

Jones Road Cool Gloss, £22, jonesroadbeauty.com

Available in ten shades, this lightweight formula has castor seed oil, beeswax and shea butter to soften and soothe. It comes in squeezable tubes and while the colours look pretty punchy, the results aren’t always so bold — in part because they seem to separate out into pigment and oil.

The ‘cool’ refers to their minty fragrance, which is said to help plump the lips by irritating them slightly and encouraging blood to rush to the area. Unfortunately no pillow pout materialised for me, and the minty flavour caught in my throat like over-chewed gum.

2/5

Ciate London Dewy Gloss, £18, ciatelondon.com

Max out moisture

Ciate London Dewy Gloss, £18, ciatelondon.com

Ciate calls it gloss lip jelly, but to me it feels more like a sheer liquid lipstick. It comes in a hard plastic tube with a soft applicator, is available in four shades and is stuffed with moisturising seed oils and hyaluronic acid.

It offers a subtle wash of colour and although uber glossy to start with, it soon melted down to something that looked more super-moisturised than glassy.

If you’re looking for a cheaper version of VB’s Posh Gloss, this is close.

3.5/5

Rhode Peptide Lip Treatment, £16, rhodeskin.com

Plump up the volume

Rhode Peptide Lip Treatment, £16, rhodeskin.com

Created by Gen Z icon Hailey Bieber, this comes in a squidgeable tube and is packed with impressive ingredients to moisturise (shea butter, cupuacu butter and babassu oil) and plumping peptides.

Available in five shades, it’s soft and buttery and gives a high shine gloss and subtle but buildable colour. However, it’s the stickiest of all these glosses. 

4/5